Story: Logging native forests

Slab whare (2nd of 3)

Dating from about 1859, this simple one-roomed house
at Carterton in the Wairarapa is made of tōtara. It is a
typical colonial dwelling known as a slab whare (whare is
the Māori word for house). It was built by 14-year-old
Richard (Dickey) Sayer, who was then making a living as a
hunter. It consists of slabs split from a log of tōtara
and nailed to a frame. Inside, battens have been nailed
across the joins to make the structure weatherproof. The
slab whare was popular with settlers because it could be
built quickly and economically, using trees from the
surrounding land.